SYNOPSIS:
Chen Qiushui, an army medic was sent to the war in Korea,
leaving behind his beloved woman, Wang Biyun. In Korea, he
met and eventually married a nurse Wang Jindi. Meanwhile,
Biyun began her long wait for Qiushui's return. After waiting
for 60 years, her unwavering love for Qiushui is still embedded
deep in her heart. During a trip to Tibet, Biyun's adopted
daughter discovered the whereabouts of Qiushui. From the pictures
sent via the internet, Biyun witnessed the final journey of
her love, Qiushui.
MOVIE
REVIEW
A
quick browse through the cast list of this Mainland Chinese
production makes us wonder why it hadn’t garnered more
attention in the region. There’s the lovely Vivian Hsu
(The Shoe Fairy, One Last Dance) and Isabella Leong (Diary,
Isabella), veteran actresses Gua Ah Lei (Eat Drink Man Woman,
The Wedding Banquet) and Yang Kuei-Mei (Double Vision, The
Wayward Cloud).
And there
is Chin Han (Red Dust, Centre Stage), who is every auntie’s
favourite on-screen hero. We are talking about the who-whos
of Chinese cinema here.
This Yin
Li-directed movie tells the tragic story of a pair of lovers
who are kept from seeing each other, no thanks to opposing
parents, changing times and the biggest obstacle of them all:
war.
The plot
isn’t terrible exciting or fresh, but the production
values makes up for it – a lot.
Check
out the sweeping music score by Zou Ye, the breathtaking cinematography
by Wang Xiaole which brings us to the city lights in contemporary
New York, the provincial town in old-time Fujian and the treacherous
snowy mountains in Tibet. And this we are pleasantly surprised:
there are realistic computer generated effects that bring
a sense of awe to the entire picture.
It is
a pity that we had to sit through this 118-minute movie presented
on VCD, which makes the whole viewing experience somehow marred.
The cast
puts in a whole-hearted performance, ranging from the earnest
Chen Kun (Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Baober
in Love) as the lovelorn doctor, to the nerdy but likeable
Steven Cheung (A Chinese Tall Story, Twins Mission) as his
competitor in love. There is also Li Bingbing (A World Without
Thieves, Dragon Squad) as a talkative medic.
The Mandarin
title of the movie romantically refers to the male and female
protagonists’ names “tied together in a ballad”.
That is enough to evoke the linguistic emotions of any romantic
die-hard.
Those
who enjoy classic big-setup movies chronicling love and loss
will definitely enjoy this one, with the eye candy as a bonus
MOVIE RATING:
 
Review
by John Li
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